With Bitcoin’s price above $6000, Satoshi Nakamoto should be on Forbes’ Rich List

By Samuel Haig - 22 October, 2017 (news.bitcoin.com)

Bitcoin’s recent spike above $6000 USD has elevated the estimated value of Satoshi Nakamoto’s holdings to more than $6 billion USD, qualifying the anonymous creator of bitcoin for Forbes’ list of richest individuals. At current bitcoin prices, Satoshi Nakamoto’s estimated 1,000,000 bitcoins would place bitcoin’s founder at number 237 on Forbes’ list.

Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin Stash Is Worth Approximately $5.978 Billion USD

The value of Satoshi Nakamoto’s estimated 1,000,000 bitcoins would place the anonymous creator on Forbes’ list of wealthiest individuals. Based on the estimated value of Satoshi’s holdings, which at the time of writing is approximately $6.1 billion USD, Nakamoto would be ranked number 237 on Forbes’ list.

Satoshi would be tied for 237th with South African business tycoon Johann Rupert, and Swedish heir and businessman Jorn Rausing. Nakamoto would be ranked higher than Alibaba’s Joseph Tsai, Australian mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forest, and Walmart heiress Ann Walkton Kroenke.

Satoshi is estimated to own approximately 5.89% of the more than 16.6 million bitcoins that are currently in circulation. The largest single bitcoin wallet is Bitfinex’s cold storage wallet, which currently holds over 168,000 bitcoins, or 1% of the total supply. The largest bitcoin wallet was previously owned by the U.S. government, after the FBI seized 144,336 bitcoins from anonymous free market The Silk Road.

With Prices Above $6000 USD, the Total Market Capitalization of Bitcoin Has Surpassed $100 Billion USD

At the time of writing, Bitcoin boasts a market cap of approximately $102 billion USD. If bitcoin were a company, it would be the 73rd largest by market cap, ranking higher than Goldman Sachs, China Petroleum & Chemical, and Bayer.

Whilst bitcoin’s total market capitalization has grown by more than 8% since October 15, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has contracted by approximately 1% – having fallen from $175.2 billion USD to $173.4 billion USD during the same period. This decline in the market capitalization of all cryptocurrency markets indicates that bitcoin is regaining its market dominance relative to altcoins, with bitcoin currently accounting for more than 59.1% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization – compared to 54.4% on October 15. This regained market dominance may have been caused by traders shifting their capital into bitcoin following bitcoin’s establishment of new all-time highs above the preceding resistance of $5000 USD.

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Samuel Haig

Samuel Haig is a cryptocurrency and economics journalist who has been passionately involved in the bitcoin space since 2012. Samuel has written about the disruptive potential of cryptocurrency with regards to the dialectical relations within contemporary neoliberal capitalism.